Author's Note:

Hey all! First of all, thanks for showing some interest in my FanFiction, Sword Art Online: Shattered Glass.

Secondly, I won't waste much of your time up here and instead save extra info at the end of the Chapter, but before we start we need to establish some changes to canon of SAO.

-Shattered Glass takes place as if Hollow Fragment actually happened. Kirito didn't defeat Heathcliff on floor 75 due to a Glitch.

-The Glitch does NOT prevent players from accessing all cleared floors. Floors 1-75 are accessible.

-Beta Players were hunted to near extinction, despite those who came forward to help beat the game (ex. Kirito).

-Several more 'Unique Skills' have surfaced.

-Bows and Crossbows have become slightly normal occurrence due to said 'Unique Skills'.

-Main Character is an OC, and is non-SAO-canon.

-Most canon SAO will be in Shattered Glass, and keeping up with Hollow Fragment rules, so will Leafa and Sinon and Strea.

Everything else still stands! Enjoy the read and stay tuned after the Chapter for an End Note!
Disclaimer: I own nothing, but any bit of original work is of my own design.

"I've always liked the sunshine."

Tyzaren opened one eye and squinted in the face of the exceedingly bright sun projecting light down onto him and his companion on floor 22. Tyzaren rolled his head to the left and stared at his companion, noting the large smile on his face,

"Yea? You think this one feels the same as the real one?"

Tyzaren's companion leaned his head back and closed his eyes, a long sigh parting from his lips, "I dunno..." He muttered at last, falling onto his elbows and then the grass, "Nothing felt real at the beginning, but, it's been so long how can we even tell? I don't remember what 'real' food tastes like, do you?"

Tyzaren looked back up at the virtual sun and shook his head, "No, I don't." He closed his eyes and shift his weight for a more comfortable position along the hillside. Today, Aincrad's weather settings were relatively high, higher than they had been in awhile. Tyzaren and his companion had taken the pleasant weather as an excuse to not engage in strenuous leveling or scouting, but instead find a nice spot to relax.

Just a few minutes of walking from the floor 22 teleport gate proved to do the trick. Floor 22 was pretty forested, lots of tall pines and no field bosses to worry about. It was also dotted with a few lakes and hills which provided the perfect place to lay in the sun.

"Hey Tyzaren?"

"Yes Dioux?"

"You know what's cool?"

Tyzaren smiled, sensing his friends ADHD kicking in, "What's cool Dioux?"

"That even here, in the virtual world, dark colors absorb the most heat from the sun."

Tyzaren shook his head and sat up, using his hands to prop himself up on the hillside, "Why doya say that?"

"Because." Dioux said standing, "It's really, really hot out."

Tyzaren let out a short laugh as he reach up with his right hand to rub the back of his head. He looked up at Dioux, his companion and laughed again, seeing him holding the seams of his pants as if they were generating heat. Tyzaren continued to smile at his friend, watching him pat himself down as if to see if some parts of his armor were warmer than others.

Dioux was wearing black pants with knee pads sewn into them. He had knee high boots that were also black, and had metal plates on the arch and ankle area's. Above his belt which doubled as a bandolier, he wore a dark green undershirt with leather armor plating resting atop of it. Finally was Dioux's cape, a dark green that drooped to his knees and at the top near his right shoulder a bow peaked out from under it. If you looked carefully, you could even see the hilt of a dagger sticking out from his left boot. He looked like your stereotypical archer, minus the scruffy blonde hair, bright, childlike green eyes and goldfish-length attention span.

Tyzaren stood as well, mirroring his friends stance, posting most of his weight on his left hip and crossing his arms.

Dioux looked up from his pants and observed his friend, smiling at the fact that he was being mimiced.

Tyzaren doned similar armor to Dioux. Black pants with sewn in knee pads, as well as identical boots. The differences starting at Tyzaren's belt, one side hung lower than the other in a swashbuckler fashion, and the side that drooped hung a small hand-held Crossbow. Tyzaren's shirt was white, leather armor plating along the shoulders and arms but the chestplate, metal and shiny. Tyzaren wore an overcoat that was darkly colored, mostly black but with some grey patches on it, working like a camouflage. Tyzaren's face was that of a young man, blue eyes and short black hair that was swooped to right. Only other thing of notice was the one-handed sword that hung from his left hip.

The two looked at eachother smiling, the same thought crossing their minds. This was what they've always wanted. In reality, they always dreamt of living a life of adventure and fun and basically how they wanted. In the virtual world… the game world, it was a reality. A separate reality. Only thing is… this reality was just as real as the other.

On November 6th, 2022… 10,000 players logged onto the worlds first Virtual Reality MMORPG, Sword Art Online… and since then, they've been trapped in a death game. Unlike normal games… Death in Sword Art Online was real. By some means of technology, the very device which was a dream come true to thousands, the NerveGear, was also a nightmare, a tool of death, a way out, each player's own grim reaper.

It's been two years since then. Two whole years, landing them somewhere in 2024, and they have seen their fair share of what the death game brings out… hell they even helped hunt down some of the beta players when they were still 'At large'. Finally though… the two have started to make their own life here. They had a house on floor 75, in Arc Sophia, plenty of Col and they each had a set of extra skills, Dioux that being an Archer, and Tyzaren being able to utilize hand Crossbows.

The two finally looked out towards the distance of floor 22, and they sighed in unison, "Y'know." Dioux started, "Would it be so bad?"

"Would what be so bad?" Tyzaren inquired, already knowing where the question was going,

"Would just living here be so bad? Not clearing the game."

Tyzaren looked down and actually questioned it himself, for the first time. Every player had been focussed on clearing the game or hiding in fear… but as the time went by, a vast majority of the players became accustomed to living in the virtual world, no intention of leaving.

Eventually word got around that they were all hospitalized and eventually, they'd die in reality if they didn't die in the virtual world. Many players made peace with that but… for others it motivated them more.

"It would be," Tyzaren stated, "It would be bad. We'd die in reality… no matter how much we like this world, it's not our own… besides. We'd get bored here. Eventually, as players die and time lingers on, clearing the game will be everyone's priority. Everyone here, who is still alive? We're all gamers. In the end, we'll do what we bought the game for."

"To play."

"Exactly."

End Note:
Alright! Thanks for reading the first chapter! This is indeed my first publication of a Fanfiction, and I'm looking for any and all types of feedback! (Negative or Positive. Preferably Constructive). Moreover, I'm opening up some room for OC's! Here's the planning table of OC's.

Name:

Appearance:

Weapon Preference?:

Personality:

Any Extra skills?:

Bit of Backstory:

Wish you all luck! And thanks again! (Note, OC's will definitely come in, in some of the later chapters, appearances will vary based on how fast they come in and the amount.)